Following issuance of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,936,939 and 3,986,261 of Frank R. Faunce, D. D. S., there has developed the manufacture and sale of laminant veneer systems by the Caulk Division of Dentsply International Inc. under the registered trademark MASTIQUE.RTM.. In cases where the teeth of a dental patient are of sound nature but are discolored as the result of intrinsic discoloration that occurs naturally or by introduction of chemical agents into the bloodstream of the patient, such as by excessive flourides in drinking water, various drugs such as tetracycline, etc., this tooth discoloration can have a serious phsychological effect on the patient. It is considered unwise to remove sound tooth structure in order to provide the patient with tooth cap type dental restorations of pleasing cosmetic appearance, especially in view of the very expensive nature of dental caps. Following the teachings of the above-identified U.S. patents, dental laminant veneer systems have been developed that are completely reversible processes, allowing application of thin laminations to the labial surfaces of the teeth of the patient without requiring any destruction of sound tooth structure. These processes enable patients having tooth discolorations but otherwise sound teeth to undergo simple and inexpensive aesthetic restorations that provide the patient with teeth of pleasing appearance. From the psychological standpoint, dramatic results have been witnessed, especially under circumstances where the discolored teeth of young patients are aesthetically improved by application of laminant veneers.
Laminant veneers may be manufactured by laboratory type techniques utilizing a dental model of the patient's teeth in order to prepare molds from which the laminant veneers are manufactured. In each case, the molds are utilized only a single time and therefore, as might well be expected, the manufacturing process is of quite expensive nature even though satisfactory results may be obtained. From a commercial standpoint, laminant veneers have been manufactured utilizing standard mold forms and by manufacturing a large number of standard laminant veneers that may be selectively applied to the teeth of a dental patient. These laminant veneers, although being of much less expensive nature as compared to the veneers produced by laboratory type manufacture, in many cases require some degree of hand working in order to achieve a proper fitting relation with the patient's teeth. Although mass produced laminant veneers are widely accepted in the market, there is nevertheless a need for laminant veneers that more accurately fit the teeth of the patient involved and have the degree of thinness that is desired by many dentists that are presently involved in aesthetic restorations with laminant veneers. It is also considered desirable from the standpoint of installation to form each laminant veneer to a model of the patient's teeth, as in laboratory type manufacture in order that the resulting veneers will have a precise fit with each of the teeth of the patient. Heretofore, achieving a precise fit of laminant veneers to the teeth of the patient could only be achieved by means of an expensive laboratory process. It is also desirable to provide a method of forming laminant veneers by means of manufacturing procedures of less expensive nature than present molding processes and to enable individual dental practitioners to form laminant veneer elements by means of simple office laboratory procedures and establish a precise fit of such laminant veneers with the individual teeth of a patient. Heretofore, such has not been considered practical.
Accordingly, it is a primary feature of the present invention to provide a novel method of forming laminant veneers for dental application wherein veneer manufacture may be accomplished commercially in large volume and at low cost or may be accomplished by individual dental practitioners utilizing simple and reliable procedures in the environment of dental office laboratories.
It is also a feature of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing laminant veneers wherein the cost of manufacture will be significantly lessened as compared to present manufacturing costs, thereby enabling efficient manufacture of a wide variety of veneer sizes and shapes, and thus enabling dental practitioners to accomplish excellent laminant fitting with the teeth of most dental patients.
It is an even further feature of the present invention to provide a novel method of manufacturing laminant veneers wherein a dental practitioner is enabled to selectively utilize mass produced laminant veneers or prescription manufactured laminant veneers in treatment of dental patients without necessitating extensive time and excessive expense to accomplish aesthetically pleasing results for the dental patients involved.
Among the several features of the present invention is noted the contemplation of novel apparatus for accomplishing manufacture of laminant veneers, wherein such apparatus is easily adapted for large volume commercial manufacture of laminant veneers or for prescription manufacture for the individual teeth of a dental patient.
It is an even further feature of this invention to provide novel apparatus for the manufacture of dental laminant veneers wherein veneer blanks of flat or partial tooth configuration may be efficiently formed by means of heat and pressure inducement, thereby promoting the use of a limited number of tooth forms in order to achieve development of a large variety of inexpensively manufactured dental veneers.
It is an even further feature of this invention to provide novel apparatus for manufacturing dental veneers that is reliable in use and does not sacrifice in any manner whatever from the standpoint of optimum quality.
Other and further objects, advantages and features of this invention will become obvious to one skilled in the art upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments about to be described and various advantages, not referred to herein, will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.